Roy Harper
|history= When did Roy Harper's real origin start? In a fiery blaze, with the death of his widower father, Roy William Harper Sr., in a forest fire? In the lonely tranquility of the Native American reservation, with the Navajo tribe that took him in to honor the son of the man who gave his life to save people in a forest fire? Or with the booming laugh of the man who would become Roy's guardian and mentor, Oliver Queen? Whatever the case, Roy Harper would spend his early years learning archery to quell the loneliness the young boy felt. Because he was alone and had few friends, Roy developed his skills greatly under Brave Bow, the medical shaman of the Navajo tribe, but his greatest skill was his archery. And he would idolize the greatest practitioner of the art, Green Arrow. So imagine Roy's great joy to discover that Green Arrow would come to judge a contest. Imagine the eagerness Roy would take in his shots, trying to impress his hero. And imagine the great disappointment as Roy missed his final shot to finish second. It would later be revealed that the arrow Roy shot had been magnetized, but Roy was able to showcase his skill to an even greater height when he helped Green Arrow stop a crook by quickly drawing and firing an arrow, so swiftly that the Emerald Archer would remark that the boy had been 'speedier' than even he was. Green Arrow offered to take Roy in as his ward... and after some discussion, Brave Bow told Roy that his destiny now laid elsewhere. Roy would soon discover that Green Arrow was Oliver Queen, millionaire playboy. As his ward, Roy would chafe for a while, as Oliver, or Ollie as he preferred to be called, drilled him in the way of the bow. Patience. Finding the right -moment- to strike with precision. The boy learned, not only how to aim a trick arrow, but also how to study the movements of the criminals, how to judge the best way to incapicate them, and how to hone his body to respond instantly to the demands he would place on it in crime fighting. He learned, not only the way of the bow, but the zen necessary to become one with the arrow, and the will to endure any strain he placed on his body to form the true path of the Archer. And one day he stepped forth as 'Speedy', assisting his mentor during many of his cases. He would meet other sidekicks, forming friendships that would last. And then the bad times came, as Ollie left Roy to fend for himself, and planted a rift that would last for years. Finding himself alone and despondent, Roy turned to drugs for comfort, developing a heroin addiction that drove him further and further into despair. It took the intervention of Dinah to help Roy motivate himself to break his addiction, but the discovery of his ward's heroin habit caused Oliver to disown him. In fact, it was only through his own will and Dinah's help that Roy found the strength to carry on a life without drugs. To prevent others from experiencing the same despondency that he did, Roy found a job at a center, helping to counsel other teens with drug problems, and carrying on a solo career as Speedy. Roy's life as a counselor and solo vigilante would end when the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) approached him. The CBI, led by Sarge Steel, was largely concerned with drug trafficking and terrorism, and were interested in Roy for his skills and his knowledge. They would train him in undercover work, and in firearms, expanding his repertiore greatly. Under the CBI, Roy would work as a drug enforcement agent. During this time, one of his assignments was to go undercover, and gain the trust of an assassin. The intent was to turn her over to the authorities, but Roy never did have a way of doing things easily. He would, of course, fall in love with the villain, and have an affair with her. Eventually, he left her, since he could not turn her in and his presence was endangering her life, not knowing that she was pregnant. He would not discover this until the day he went on a mission to find and stop a plot to assassinate a diplomatic entourage. Roy, somehow thinking he could convince the assassin to not carry out her work, fell into her hands, and had to be freed by a certain young sidekick with extremely good detective skills... who presented him with someone left in his care. That someone would turn out to be the apple of Roy's eye... his daughter, Lian. After Lian came into Roy's life, Roy balanced fatherhood with his government work, doing his part towards making a better tomorrow for his daughter, today. }} Category:DC Category:FC Category:Hero Category:Registered-Real-Name Category:Character